BOXING: Norristown youth Andre Mack ready to make amateur debut

Andre Mack practices for his upcoming match on the punching mitts that Calvin Grove is wearing. Friday, April 25, 2014. Photo by Adrianna Hoff/Times Herald Staff.

NORRISTOWN — Fred Clea has been around the Sweet Science for better than 30 years. He grew up in the same Strawberry Mansion neighborhood that produced the ageless Bernard Hopkins, who is still re-writing boxing history.

He worked out in the famed 23rd PAL Gym in Philadelphia where world champions Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) and Jimmy Young learned their craft.

These days, Clea is running the boxing program at the Norristown PAL. He is teaching the sport he loves, and at the same time showing youngsters how dedication and hard work, mixed in with a little sweat and adversity, can keep them out of trouble and on the right path in life.

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“I love the game,” said Clea, 52, who has resided in Norristown for more than a decade. “It’s a great sport and I’m blessed that Montgomery County and Norristown gave me the opportunity to do this in Norristown. We’re doing some good things here.”

A stable of “at least 25 or 30” regulars venture downstairs at the PAL Center and subject themselves to Clea’s hard-nosed training style. There’s not much sugar coating. And don’t expect to be coddled. Clear as a punch in the face, he teaches the basics of boxing — the way he was taught.

“Our place is not the mecca of boxing,” he said. “That used to be Philly. That’s where you learned to fight. I’ve taken that culture I grew up with and have brought it to Norristown.”

And it just so happens that Clea might have found what so many trainers seek — the diamond in the rough. The kid who has raw ability, knows how to listen and learn and more importantly, has that something special inside his heart.

This kid, by the way, happens to be 13 years old. His name is Andre Mack, and he stands 5-feet, 8-inches tall, with size 13 feet and will be making his amateur debut at 135 pounds Friday night at the Junior Olympics Development Tournament in Shuler’s Gym in Philadelphia.

Mack is an eighth grade student at the Eisenhower Science and Technology Leadership Academy. He does two miles of roadwork every other day through the streets of Norristown, shadow boxing as he trains, getting ready for his debut.

If years down the road the stars and planets align, and Mack develops into the caliber of fighter Clea imagines, who knows what the future holds.

But the story will make someone a nice sum of money.

Mack found the boxing section of the PAL Center almost by accident. He played basketball there, and one day ventured into the boxing den below the court. And then an epiphany happened.

“Fate told me to go with it,” Mack said. “I don’t know why, but I went with it. I sparred, and when I got hit, I was wondering, ‘What did I get myself into?’ I got hit, and stunned.

“But I kept training harder and working harder. And I really liked it. It made me more disciplined and more mature. It taught me about myself.”

Clea saw something in Mack. He saw a determination, a passion, a desire. And he saw a boy willing to sacrifice to succeed. A boy with a tall frame, long arms and no fear.

The two worked together for endless hours in the gym and formed a bond.

“In training, he doesn’t play around,” Mack said of Clea’s old school methods. “He’s dead serious. The workouts are Army-style workouts, and they hurt. But they make me tough and strong.”

One of those helping Clea at the Norristown PAL is former world champion Calvin Grove, who grew up in Coatesville and had a 49-10 record as a featherweight and fought all over the world. The two men watched the youngster and were impressed, despite his young age, at his raw ability.

“He’s got an edge and he’s got confidence,” Clea said. “And he does not have any fear. No fear. He comes to box.

“He’s going to grow up and be a big, strong kid. We’re going to teach him how to box. We’ve taught him how to box. I love everything about him.”

While some might question throwing a 13-year-old with zero experience into the sub-novice division of the Junior Olympic Tournament in hard-nosed Philadelphia, of all places, Clea said Mack has earned it.

He spoke of a sparring session in one of those street-tough Philly gyms. A boxer needed someone at 135 pounds to work with, and Clea offered up Mack. The session, with an up-and-coming Golden Gloves boxer, was vicious. The 13-year-old overcame a relentless attack. A trial by fire, so to speak. And he did more than just survive.

“Andre got in there and gave the guy all he could handle,” Clea said. “And this guy, he was 26 years old. Twenty-six! That’s a man against a boy.

“He showed no fear. The action got going, like it does when people hit each other, and the guy apologized afterwards. He didn’t know the kid was only 13. But you don’t see age in the ring. Andre showed me then what he had to bring.”

And, thus, the decision was made to let Mack step up his game.

“I know this Junior Olympics stuff is serious,” Clea said. “But before we put him in there, I talked to some people I know, some good people, to make sure they thought he was ready. They all said he was. And I figured, I have to give this kid a shot. It’s going to be a great experience for him. He’ll learn and grow.”